From the course: Mindfulness Practices

Practice: Working with difficult people

From the course: Mindfulness Practices

Practice: Working with difficult people

- This practice is to help you grow connection with difficult people you might work with. Find a quiet space. Shut off any distractions. Sit comfortably, relaxing your shoulders, spine straight, your feet on the floor. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. We'll start by taking three long, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose, exhaling through your mouth to a count of three. Let's start. Inhale, two, three. Exhale, two, three. Inhale, two, three. Exhale, two, three. Take another deep breath. Now, bring to mind somebody that you have a trusted relationship with. Notice the thoughts that come up. Perhaps it's a memory of shared positive times together. Notice how it feels in your body. Perhaps you feel yourself more relaxed or even smiling. Just take a moment to savor that memory. Next, bring to mind somebody who you want to influence and collaborate with, but find difficult to work with. Now, notice what thoughts or judgements come up about this person. Just label the thought as it comes up. You might say, this person is difficult for me to work with because I see them as lazy. You might notice that you dislike laziness. Continue to breathe. Now, notice if there is an emotional charge that comes up. Perhaps there's anger or frustration, hurt, maybe even fear. Label any feelings that come up. Take a deep breath in, fully accepting the feeling. See if you can locate the feeling in your body. Let yourself experience whatever feeling there is. Breathe into that part of the body, long, slow exhale. As you continue to breathe, notice if anything is shifting. You're not trying to change anything. You're just acknowledging what's present without any judgment. Now, see if you can find one positive quality in this person. Is there a quality that you could appreciate? Is there a contribution that they've made that you can value? You can pause this if you'd like to continue the practice longer. (bell chimes) When you're ready, open your eyes. You can say a silent thank you to yourself for taking the time to practice developing greater connection with others. You may choose to journal about this in the attached exercise file called, Developing Trust with Difficult People. Until the next time, my friends.

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